Coating means and mechanism



Aug. 27, 1935. M. F. HOLT El AL COATING MEANS AND MECHANISM Filed Aug. 7. 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 27, 1935.

M. F. H OLT ET AL COATING MEANS AND MECHANISM Filed Au v, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jawu/vafL l mow/m ATTOR Y Aug.- :27, 1935. M. F. HOLT El AL 2,012,815

COATING MEANS AND MECHANISM Filed Aug. 7, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mrnmeof." lj/sm/AzoML/ omsm.

' ATTORN Aug. 27, 1935. M. F. HOLT ET AL COATING MEANS AND MECHANISM Filed Aug. 7, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I Villlllllllllfllllllll! ill INVENTORS J Q1 MFA/1460115750. r I Jevwq/va ML /Fow.sw/.

- I "7 {ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 27, 1935 p 7 COATING MEANS AND MECHANISM Maynard r. 11.1.. Rye, and Sigmund N. 1.1mm

New York, N. Y.; said Lipowlki usignor to said Holt Application August I, 1933, Serial No. 883,986

Claims.

The invention herein disclosed relates to a method and a machine for applying a coating to articles and comprehends an automatic machine of this character the operation of which may be 5 controlled by a check.

, In the copending application, Serial No. 654,188, for Coating machines there is disclosed and described a machine for coating golf balls. In the machine therein disclosed, thegolf balls are coated by dipping them in to a container of lacquer. For this purpose, there is provided a conveyor having several ball carrying elements each of which is brought successively into position to receive a ball, dipped into a container having a liquid coating material therein and passed over a drier to dry the coating on the surface of the ball. Since the conveyor element is dipped in the coating material with the ball, it is also coated. The coating resulting from successive dippings are cumulative and in time the conveyor elements must be cleaned in order to insure that they will continue to function efflciently.

The present invention includes a method for coating the surface of articles and a machine for carrying out the method in which none of the operative parts is coated with the articles passing through the machine. Other objects of the invention include the production of a coating machine which distributes the coating material more uniformly over the surface of the articles coated, which is less expensive to manufacture, which is provided with a positive check control and which is more satisfactory in operation.

In accordance with the method of the invention the surface of an article is coated with a lacquer and the article is rotated while the lacquer is drying to distribute the lacquer over the surface of the article. For carrying out themethod there is provided a coating machine which includes a container adapted to hold a liquid coating material. Articles to be coated are immersed in the coating material in the container by being plunged therein. Mechanism operating entirely within the container remove the articles from the container and upon being removed the articles are acted upon by mechanism adapted to dis-- tribute the coating material over the surface of the article. vThe mechanism acting within the coating material container is not successively subjected to the coating material and the air which is necessary in order that a coating be formed thereon. v i

In one form of a machine which embodies my invention there is a receiver for receiving the articles to be coated, a coating container having a dipping compartment into which the articles' to be coated are plunged, mechanism for rotating the articles after they have been dipped to distribute the coating material over the surface -5 of the article, and mechanism for conveying the coated article to a delivery receptacle. The receiver comprises a hopper into which the articles areplaced. An opening through the bottom of the. hopper delivers articles placed in the hop- 10 per to a receiver casing which has an opening therethroughdirectly over one end of a chute which delivers an article passing through the opening in the bottom ofthe casing to the con 1 tainer for the coating material. Communica- 15 tion between the casing and the chute is controlled by a disk having apertures, one of which must be brought into register with the aperture in the bottom of the casing in order for an article to pass into the chute. disk to bring an aperture therethrough into register with the opening through the bottom of the casing is efiected through a motion transmitting train which is incomplete without a removable link, such forexample, as a check or coin.

Within the container there is a dipping compartment which forms a guide for the article delivered through the chute. The upper end of this compartment is provided with a movable cover which is moved in timed relation with the 30 control disk in the receiver casing so that it is opened when an article passes into the chute. In the clipping compartment, an arm operates to lift the article out of the compartment. The arm is at all times wholly immersed in the coating material except for a moment each time it raises an article out of the container when the end of the arm extends above the coating material. This short exposure is not suilicient however to dry the coating material on the end of the arm.

As the article is lifted out of the container it is grasped between a pair of journaled prongs which are moved with the article into operative relation with a driving wheel. The driving wheel 5 contacting with a wheel secured to one of the prongs rotates the prongs and the article. The rapid rotation of the article causes the still pliable coating material to be distributed more uniformly over the surface of the article. While the ar- 5 ticle is being thus rotated a blast of air may be directed on it to assist the drying of the coating material. The coated article is delivered on to a conveyor by means of which it is deposited in a .delivery receptacle.

Movement of the 20 drawin s and described in detail below from which illustration and description a clearer understanding of my invention may be had.

In the drawings:

Figure .1 is a side elevation of the machine with the casing removed and with parts broken away;

Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same taken along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the same with the cover removed;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary, sectional elevation.

Figures 6 and show the coin control mechanism and associated structure.

Figure 7 is a sectional view on line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a section on line 3-9 of Figure 6.

' Figure 11 shows in detail mechanism including means for synchronizing the delivery of a ball with means for operating coating mechanism.

Figure 12 is a section on line l2--l2 of Figure 11.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is adapted to be controlled by a coin and may be set up at a golf club in some convenient place so that the members can relacquer their used golf balls. The entire machine with the exception of a hopper and a ball delivery receptacle is enclosed within a casing I which is secured to a base 2 on which the operating mechanism is mounted. The hopper 3 is a part-of the receiver which in addition to the hopper includes a circular casing 4 mounted on the upper ends of two standards 5a and 5b. The block 4, which is provided with a series of apertures, six in number, each equal in diameter to the opening through the bottom of the hopper, is rotatably mounted on a spindle 6 extending from a plate I spanning the standards 5a and 5b. Before a ball can pass into the casing an aperture through the block must be brought into register with an aperture through the plate I,

Operation of the machine and movement of the block or disk 4 into a position to permit the passage of a ball through the plate 1 is effected by inserting a coin 8 in the open end of a coin receiving chute 9. The coin in passing down the chute trips a switch ID by moving a lever II and passes to a position shown in dotted lines between a pair of elements. The tripped switch closes a circuit to a driving motor l2 which is connected through a pulley l3 on one end of the motor shaft, a belt 14 and pulley lie to a jack shaft IS on which the pulley I50 is'mounted. The jack shaft I5 is journaled in a pair of spaced bearing brackets I61: and lib depending from the base 2. Intermediate the ended the shaft l5, there is secured to the shaft a worm l5b, which meshes with a worm gear I! secured on a shaft 18. Movement of the shaft I5 is transmitted to a shaft l9 through a pinion 20 mounted on the shaft 18 and a gear 2| mounted on the shaft is which is journaled in spaced bearing 1 brackets Na and l3b. On the shaft I9 there is mounted a cam 22 which is rotated with the shaft and which acts upon a cam follower 23 secured on a lever 24 intermediate the ends thereof. The lower end of the lever,is rotatably secured to a standard 25 secured to the base 2.

The upper end of the'lever is pivotally secured to one end of a link 26. The other end of the link 23 is secured to a driving bar 21 which is provided with an arm 21a that has a lateral end which extends into a longitudinal slot in a driven bar 23. The two bars are slidably. mounted in a bracket 23a formed on an extension of the coin chute. It is between these two bars that the coin I comes to rest and it forms a connecting link between the bars without which the driving bar 21 moves under the action of the cam 22 and lever 24 without moving the driven bar 23. With the'coin between the two bars, movement of the lever 24 to the left as shown in Figure 1, moves the driving bar 21 and through the coin, the driven bar 28 to the left. Such movement is transmitted through a bell crank lever 29 to a bar 30 slidably mounted in guides 30a and 30b on the plate 1 on which the block 4 rests. One arm 29a of the bell crank lever, which is mounted on a pivot 3| extending from the standard 5b, is connected to the driven bar 23 and the other arm 29b is connected through a link 32 to the slidable bar 30. The bar 30 carries a paul 33 mounted on a pivot 34 which paul cooperates with ratchet teeth 4a formed on the edge of the disk 4. The bar 30 is moved by the bell crank lever 29 an amount just suflicient to move the disk angularly throug one-half the angular distance between the c nters of successive apertures through the disk i. e. thirty degrees. This movement brings an aperture through the disk into register with the opening through the plate I and permits a ball to pass through. The hopper 3 is out of alignment with the opening through the plate I an angular distance equal to the angle between successive apertures in the disk. By the movement of the disk under the action of the bar 30, a ball which passed into an opening in the disk in alignment with the hopper, is carried around by the aperture in the disk and moved into a position half way between the hopper and the opening through the plate I. Return movement of the bar 21 is transmitted to the bar 28 through the lateral extension of the arm 21a.

The disk 4 is further rotated through an angle equal to half the angle between successive apertures to bring the ball holding aperture into alignment with the aperture through the plate 1 through a slidably mounted bar 35 mounted on the diametrically opposite side of the disk I to the position of the bar 30. The bar 35 carries a paul 36 mounted on a pivot 31, and cooperating with the ratchet teeth 4a on the disk 4. Movement of the bar 35 is effected through, a lever 31 the lower end of which is pivotally secured to a standard 38 mounted on the base 2. The upper end of the lever 31 is pivotally secured to a bracket 39 secured to the bar 35. Intermediate the ends of the lever 31, there is mounted on the lever a cam follower 40 which cooperates with a cam 4| for oscillating the lever, a spring holds the lever with the cam follower 'in contact with the cam.

The coin 8 inserted in the coin chute comes to rest between the driving and driven bars because it rests upon the periphery of a disk 42.

are reciprocated twice before the slot through the disk is brought into a vertical position so that the coin may fall from between the bars I1 and I8 and through the slot in the disk 48. Thus the disk 4 is rotated so that'two balls are delivered into the machine before the link between the drivingbar-fland the driven bar 28 is removed.

When a ball passes through the block 4, it passes into a delivery chute 88 which is in alignment with the end of a dipping compartment "a of a lacquer container 48. The walls of the dipping compartment, which is only slightly larger in cross section than the ball, are arcuate so that the ball in being immersed moves along an arcuate path. The end of the compartment is closed by a cover 88 which is secured on a stud II rotatably mounted in a bracket 82 on the side of the container. The stud SI extends through the bracket and has a crank 88 formed on the end thereof. A tension spring lie is secured betweenthe pins Ila and lib and midway between the open and closed positions of the cover traverses the axis of the stud. The sprin serves to snap the cover into the closed and open positions, the cover being moved slightly past the midway position of the spring as herematter described. The cover is oi course opened each time a ball enters the chute 48. The cover is moved to open and close the dipping compartment in timed relation with the action of the feeding disk 4 through the movements of a shaft 88 to which it is connected by a crank 88 mounted on the shaft and a link 81, the ends of which are connected to the crank and the cover 80. The end ofthe link connected to the coveris slotted and receives a pin Ila which extends into the cover., The slot allows the snap action of the cover when it is moved to a position in which the spring 58 passes its center position.

The shaft 58, which passes through and is journaled in the side walls of a recess formed in the top of the lacquer container. is oscillated through a crank, link, lever and cam connection to the shaft I8. On the shaft 88 there is mounted a crank 88 which is pivotally secured to one end of a link 58, the other end of which link is pivotally secured to one end of a lever Ill. The lever 60 is mounted to rock on a pivot Ilia secured in the standard lb. The opposite end of the lever 68 is pivotally connected to a link 8| which is also connected to a slide 82 carrying an arm 82a. The slide 82 isslidably mounted upon a vertical lever 68 which is pivotally secured at its lower end to the standard 82). This lever carries the arm 82a of the slide into and out of a position in which the arm lies in the path of a pin 84 mounted on the side of a disk ll rotatably mounted on'the shaft l8. The action of gravity acting on the several parts of this train normally maintains the slide 82 in its uppermost position from which position it is moved downwardly by thepin 88 to oscillate the lever 80 and thus the shaft. Normally, the lever 88 is with the lever 88 is depressed. The opposite end of the lever 88 is raised and the end of the lever 88 is released. When released. the .lever 88 is moved to the right as seen in Fig. l by a spring .88 and carries the arm 82a of the slide 82 into the path of the pin 84. The lever 88 is returned to its initial position through an overhanging arm 82b secured to the slide 82. when the armshoulder 88a of the lever 88, a spring 10 moves the lever 88 so that the shoulder "a engages the lever 88. In this position, the arm 62a of the slide is moved out of the path of the pin 84.

A ball immersed in the dipping compartment is removed therefrom by an arm H mounted in the lacquer container and secured to the shaft 55. The arm 'II has a pronged end I la which engages a ball in the dipping compartment and raises the ball out of the compartment when the shaft 58 is oscillated, the cover 80 being moved to permit the ball to pass. The arm I! is secured to the shaft 55 to rotate therewith througha pin 12 which acts in a slot in the hub lib of the arm This-lost motion connection aifords'time for the ball to be immersed after the cover is opened. Since the arm is mounted in the lacquer container and is only exposed for a'fraction of a minute for each ball that is immersed, it cannot become coated as When a ball is lifted out of the dipping compartment by the arm II it is gripped between two prongs Ila and 18b, and rotated. Each of the prongs is formed on a shaft that is journaled in a bearing, the prong 18a being mounted on the end of a shaft H'jcurnaled in a bearing I5 and the prong 18b being mountedon the end of a shaft 18 Journaled in a bearing-I1. The bearings 18 and 11 are formed on corresponding ends of levers I8 and 18 respectively. The levers l8 and 18 are pivotally mounted, between their ends on opposite sides of a slide plate 80, the lever 18 being mounted on a pivot 8| and the lever 18 being mounted on a pivot 82. The slide plate 8|! has a tongue on each side which is slidably mounted in 1 and 88 mounted on, longitudinally and centrally of, the slide 88. A bifurcated arm of the bracket 88 is pivotally secured to one end of a lever 88, the other end of which is pivotally secured to a standard 8| mounted on the base 2. Intermediate the ends of the lever 80 there is secured to the lever a cam follower 82 which cooperates with a cam 83 mounted on the shaft I8; As the cam 93 rotates, the lever 88 oscillates about its pivotal connection to the standard 8|. As shown in the drawings, the lever 80 is in a position of rest at which the prongs 18a, and 18b and the golf ball A therebetween are rotated. This rotation is accomplished through the contact of a friction wheel 84 mounted on the end of the shaft 14 and a drive wheel 85 mounted on a/shaft 86 which is connected to'be rotated by the gear "i1 through a pinion 81 secured to the shaft 86 and meshing with the gear l'l. After the ball has been rotated sufficiently to distribute the lacquer over the surface thereof and the lacquer is practically dried thereon, the upper end of the lever moves in the direction of the lacquer container and moves theslidelluntil theballbetween theprongsis suspended directly over a runway 22. The 99 1' end of the lever 8| is then moved in the opposite direction which action draws together the ends of the levers connected to the links M and I! and separates the ends of the levers carrying the bear- -ings 15 and TI. The ball is-thus released from the by continued movement of the lever SI to the position shown in the drawings.

'lhedryingofthe lacquer on theballis assisted by a blast of air from an air pipe ill. A ir under pressure is supplied to the pipe in by a rotary compressor III connected to the shaft of th motor l2. v

A ball deposited on the rimway 88 rolls on to the conveyor 89. The conveyor 9! is of the chain type and is mounted on a pair of sprockets I22 and I03 mounted on shafts I and I05 journaled in spaced standards Iii and II" respectively. The sprocket III is secured to the shaft Ill to which there is also secured a ratchet wheel Ill. One end of a lever II! is rotatably mounted on the shaft I M and the lever carries a. paul III which cooperates with the ratchet wheel I. The other end of the lever It! is secured to one end of a link III,theother endoiwhichlinkissecuredto the upper end of a lever H2. The lower end of the lever I I2 is pivotally connected to a standard 3 mounted on the base 2. A cam follower II mounted intermediate the ends of the lever H2 engages a cam H5 mounted on the shaft I! and adapted to oscillate the lever lll which is held against the cam by a spring IIS. Through this motion transmitting train the conveyor is operated to deliver a ball thereon to another rimway I H which terminates in a delivery receptacle III which protrudes from the outer surface of the casing I.

The switch It is normally held in an open position by a leaf spring Ida acting on an arm Ilb of the switch. When tripped by a coin contacts I00 and lid are brought together and a circuit closed to the motor. The switch is held in the closed *position through the action of a lever IIQ cooperating with an arm lie of the switch. The lever I I9 is pivoted between its ends on a pin I 20 and carries a pin I Illa at its upper end which engages the arm IIIe of the switch. The lever is urged towards the arm by a spring I2I. In the open position of theswitch, the pin I Ida abuts against the end of the arm lie. when however, the switch is tripped and the arm Ille raised, the pin I I9a moves to a position under the arm "is as shown and prevents the switch from returning to its original position. After the machine has operated to lacquer and deliver two balls, the lever H9 is swung about its pivot to release the switch III. This is accomplished by a pin I22 secured to the sprocket I02 and cooperating with the lower end of the lever 9. As the pin I22 moves around with the sprocket, it engages the lower end of the lever II! and swings the lever about its pivot to its initial position in which 10-.

sitiontheswitchisreleased. Whenthepin I22 andlever II! become diaengagedthepin IIUa abutsagainsttheendofthearmlle.

Whereeveracamfollowerandeamcooperate inthismachine,aspringisusedtomaintainthe camfollowerineontactwiththecam. Tosimplify the drawings, some of these springs have not been shown but it will be appreciated that eachsuchspringisconnectedatoneendtothe movable element carrying the cam follower and at the other end to the base or some element fixedwithrespecttothebase.

ltisobviousthatvariom changesmaybemade bythoseskilledintheartinthedetailsofthe embodimentoftheinventionillustratedinthe drawings and describedindetaii above within the principle and scope of my invention as in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. Inamachineforcoatingtheentiresurface of articles with a lacquer, the'combination comprising a conveyorarm having an article supporting end portion mounted for movement in a vertical plane, article delivering having an article delivery opening containing the plane of movemfiit of the conveyor arm, a lacquer container positioned to contain the plane of movement of the conveyor arm, and means for operating the conveyor arm between a podtion in which the article supporting end portion is directly beneath the delivery opening of the article delivery mechanism and a position in which the article supporting end portion is wholly within the lacquer container.

2. In a machine for coating the entire surface of articles with a lacquer, the combination comprising a conveyor arm having an article supporting portion mounted for movement, in a vertical plane. article delivering mechanism having an article delivery opening'containing the plane of movement of the conveyor arm, a lacquer container positioned to contain the plane of movement of the conveyor arm, means for operating the conveyor arm between a position in which the article supporting portion is directly beneath the delivery opening of the article delivery mechanism and a position in which the article supporting portion is wholly within the lacquer container, and means for distributing and drying the lacquer on an article comprising a pair of pivotally mounted levers slidably mounted for conjoint movement transversely to the path of movement of the conveyor arm, gripping jaws rotatably mounted on said levers, means for moving the gripping jaws transversely to the path of movement of the conveyor arm, means for causing the jaws to contract and grip an article supported by the conveyor, and means for rotating the gripping jaws in one extreme position of their movement transversely to the path of movement of the conveyor arm.

3. In a machine for coating the entire surface of articles with a lacquer, the combination comprising a lacquer container, article delivery mechanism having an article delivery opening directly above the opening to the lacquer container, a conveyor for the articles to be lacquered comprising an arcuate arm mounted within the lacquer container and an end portion having point supports for supporting an article to be lacquered, and means for oscillating the conveyor arm between a point in which the end portion thereof is outside of the lacquer container and directly beneath the delivery opening of the delivery mechanism and a point in which the end portion thereof and an article thereon are wholly within the lacquer container.

mounted upon 'a shaft for oscillatory movement within the container, the conveyor arm including,

a section extending radially of its axis of oscillation, an arcuate section extending from the radial section and having its center of curvature at the axis of oscillation of the arm and point supports on the free end of the arm for supporting an article thereon, and means for oscillating the arm between a position in which the free end thereof and an article thereon will be wholly immersed in the lacquer'in the container anda position in which an article supported on the free end of the conveyor arm is wholly outside of the container.

5. In a machine for coating the entire surface of articles with a lacquer, the combination comprising a conveyor arm having an article-supporting end portion mounted for movement in a vertical plane, article delivering mechanism having an article delivery opening containing the plane of movement of the conveyor arm, a lacquer container positioned to contain the plane of movement of the conveyor arm, and means for operating the conveyor arm between-a position in which the article-supporting end portion is directly beneath the delivery opening of the article delivering mechanism and a position in which the article-supporting end portion is wholly within the lacquer container including a pivotally mounted v lever, means connecting one end of the lever for 

